READINGS ON EXPLORATION AND COLONIALISM
Privileges and Prerogatives Granted by Their Catholic Majesties to
Christopher Columbus : 1492
From the Avalon Project and The Federal and State Constitutions Colonial Charters, and Other Organic Laws of
the States, Territories, and Colonies Now or Heretofore Forming the United States of America,
Compiled and Edited Under the Act of Congress of June 30, 1906 by Francis Newton Thorpe
(Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1909)
F
ERDINAND and ELIZABETH, by the
Grace of God, King and Queen of Castile, of
Leon, of Arragon, of Sicily, of Granada, of
Toledo, of Valencia, of Galicia, of Majorca, of
Minorca, of Sevil, of Sardinia, of Jaen, of Algarve, of
Algezira, of Gibraltar, of the Canary Islands, Count
and Countess of Barcelona, Lord and Lady of Biscay
and Molina, Duke and Duchess of Athens and
Neopatria. Count and Countess of Rousillion and
Cerdaigne, Marquess and Marchioness of Oristan
and Gociano, &c.
For as much of you, Christopher Columbus, are
going by our command, with some of our vessels and
men, to discover and subdue some Islands and
Continent in the ocean, and it is hoped that by God's
assistance, some of the said Islands and Continent in
the ocean will be discovered and conquered by your
means and conduct, therefore it is but just and
reasonable, that since you expose yourself to such
danger to serve us, you should be rewarded for it.
And we being willing to honour and favour You for
the reasons aforesaid: Our will is, That you,
Christopher Columbus, after discovering and
conquering the said Islands and Continent in the said
ocean, or any of them, shall be our Admiral of the
said Islands and Continent you shall so discover and
conquer; and that you be our Admiral, Vice-Roy, and
Governour in them, and that for the future, you may
call and stile yourself, D. Christopher Columbus, and
that your sons and successors in the said
employment, may call themselves Dons, Admirals,
Vice-Roys, and Governours of them; and that you
may exercise the office of Admiral, with the charge
of Vice-Roy and Governour of the said Islands and
Continent, which you and your Lieutenants shall
conquer, and freely decide all causes, civil and
criminal, appertaining to the said employment of
Admiral, Vice-Roy, and Governour, as you shall
think fit in justice, and as the Admirals of our
kingdoms use to do; and that you have power to
punish offenders; and you and your Lieutenants
exercise the employments of Admiral, Vice-Roy, and
Governour, in all things belonging to the said offices,
or any of them; and that you enjoy the perquisites and
salaries belonging to the said employments, and to
each of them, in the same manner as the High
Admiral of our kingdoms does. And by this our letter,
or a copy of it signed by a Public Notary: We
command Prince John, our most dearly beloved Son,
the Infants, Dukes, Prelates, Marquesses, Great
Masters and Military Orders, Priors. Commendaries,
our Counsellors, Judges, and other Officers of Justice
whatsoever, belonging Courts, and Chancery, and
Constables of Castles, Strong Houses, and others; and
all Corporations, Bayliffs, Governours, Judges,
Commanders, Sea Officers; and the Aldermen,
Common Council, Officers, and Good People of all
Cities, Lands, and Places in our Kingdoms and
Dominions, and in those you shall conquer and
subdue, and the captains masters, mates, and other
officers and sailors, our natural subjects now being,
or that shall be for the time to come, and any of them
that when you shall have discovered the said Islands
and Continent in the ocean; and you, or any that shall
have your commission, shall have taken the usual
oath in such cases, that they for the future, look upon
you as long as you live, and after you, your son and
heir, and so from one heir to another forever, as our
Admiral on our said Ocean, and as Vice-Roy and
Governour of the said Islands and Continent, by you,
Christopher Columbus, discovered and conquered;
and that they treat you and your Lieutenants, by you
appointed, for executing the employments of
Admiral, Vice-Roy, and Governour, as such in all
respects, and give you all the perquisites and other
things belonging and appertaining to the said offices;
and allow, and cause to be allowed you, all the
honours, graces, concessions, prehaminences,
prerogatives, immunities, and other things, or any of
them which are due to you, by virtue of your
commands of Admiral, Vice-Roy, and Governour,
and to be observed completely, so that nothing be
diminished; and that they make no objection to this,
or any part of it, nor suffer it to be made; forasmuch
as we from this time forward, by this our letter,
bestow on you the employments of Admiral, ViceRoy, and perpetual Governour forever; and we put
you into possession of the said offices, and of every
of them, and full power to use and exercise them, and
to receive the perquisites and salaries belonging to
them, or any of them, as was said above. Concerning
all which things, if it be requisite, and you shall
desire it, We command our Chancellour, Notaries,
and other Officers, to pass, seal, and deliver to you,
our Letter of Privilege, in such form and legal
manner, as you shall require or stand in need of. And
that none of them presume to do any thing to the
contrary, upon pain of our displeasure, and forfeiture
of 30 ducats for each offence. And we command him,
who shall show them this our Letter, that he summon
them to appear before us at our Court, where we shall
then be, within fifteen days after such summons,
under the said penalty. Under which same, we also
command any Public Notary whatsoever, that he give
to him that shows it him, a certificate under his seal,
that we may know how our command is obeyed.
GIVEN at Granada, on the 30th of April, in the year
of our Lord, 1492.I, THE KING, I, THE QUEEN.
By their Majesties Command,
John Coloma
Secretary to the King and Queen.
Entered according to order.
RODERICK. Doctor.
SEBASTIAN DOLONA,
FRANCIS DE MADRID,
Councellors.
Registered
An Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico
From the Internet History Sourcebooks Project and
Miguel Leon Portilla, ed., The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico (Boston, 1962)
In 1519 Hernan Cortés sailed from Cuba, landed in Mexico and made his way to the Aztec capital. Miguel LeonPortilla, a Mexican anthropologist, gathered accounts by the Aztecs, some of which were written shortly after the
conquest.
Speeches of Motecuhzoma and Cortés
hen Motecuhzoma [Montezuma] had given
necklaces to each one, Cortés asked him:
"Are you Motecuhzoma? Are you the
king? Is it true that you are the king Motecuhzoma?"
W
And the king said: "Yes, I am Motecuhzoma." Then
he stood up to welcome Cortés; he came forward,
bowed his head low and addressed him in these
words: "Our lord, you are weary. The journey has
tired you, but now you have arrived on the earth. You
have come to your city, Mexico. You have come here
to sit on your throne, to sit under its canopy.
"The kings who have gone before, your
representatives, guarded it and preserved it for your
coming. The kings Itzcoatl, Motecuhzoma the Elder,
Axayacatl, Tizoc and Ahuitzol ruled for you in the
City of Mexico. The people were protected by their
swords and sheltered by their shields.
"Do the kings know the destiny of those they left
behind, their posterity? If only they are watching! If
only they can see what I see!
"No, it is not a dream. I am not walking in my sleep. I
am not seeing you in my dreams.... I have seen you at
last! I have met you face to face! I was in agony for
five days, for ten days, with my eyes fixed on the
Region of the Mystery. And now you have come out
of the clouds and mists to sit on your throne again.
"This was foretold by the kings who governed your
city, and now it has taken place. You have come back
to us; you have come down from the sky. Rest now,
and take possession of your royal houses. Welcome
to your land, my lords! "
When Motecuhzoma had finished, La Malinche
translated his address into Spanish so that the Captain
could understand it. Cortés replied in his strange and
savage tongue, speaking first to La Malinche: "Tell
Motecuhzoma that we are his friends. There is
nothing to fear. We have wanted to see him for a long
time, and now we have seen his face and heard his
words. Tell him that we love him well and that our
hearts are contented."
Then he said to Motecuhzoma: "We have come to
your house in Mexico as friends. There is nothing to
fear."
La Malinche translated this speech and the Spaniards
grasped Motecuhzoma's hands and patted his back to
show their affection for him....
Massacre in the Main Temple
uring this time, the people asked
Motecuhzoma how they should celebrate
their god's fiesta. He said: "Dress him in all
his finery, in all his sacred ornaments."
D
During this same time, The Sun commanded that
Motecuhzoma and Itzcohuatzin, the military chief of
Tlatelolco, be made prisoners. The Spaniards hanged
a chief from Acolhuacan named Nezahualquentzin.
They also murdered the king of Nauhtla,
Cohualpopocatzin, by wounding him with arrows and
then burning him alive.
For this reason, our warriors were on guard at the
Eagle Gate. The sentries from Tenochtitlan stood at
one side of the gate, and the sentries from Tlatelolco
at the other. But messengers came to tell them to
dress the figure of Huitzilopochtli. They left their
posts and went to dress him in his sacred finery: his
ornaments and his paper clothing.
When this had been done, the celebrants began to
sing their songs. That is how they celebrated the first
day of the fiesta. On the second day they began to
sing again, but without warning they were all put to
death. The dancers and singers were completely
unarmed. They brought only their embroidered
cloaks, their turquoises, their lip plugs, their
necklaces, their clusters of heron feathers, their
trinkets made of deer hooves. Those who played the
drums, the old men, had brought their gourds of snuff
and their timbrels.
The Spaniards attacked the musicians first, slashing
at their hands and faces until they had killed all of
them. The singers-and even the spectators- were also
killed. This slaughter in the Sacred Patio went on for
three hours. Then the Spaniards burst into the rooms
of the temple to kill the others: those who were
carrying water, or bringing fodder for the horses, or
grinding meal, or sweeping, or standing watch over
this work.
The king Motecuhzoma, who was accompanied by
Itzcohuatzin and by those who had brought food for
the Spaniards, protested: "Our lords, that is enough!
What are you doing? These people are not carrying
shields or macanas. Our lords, they are completely
unarmed!"
The Sun had treacherously murdered our people on
the twentieth day after the captain left for the coast.
We allowed the Captain to return to the city in peace.
But on the following day we attacked him with all
our might, and that was the beginning of the war
Hernan Cortés: from Second Letter to Charles V, 1520
From the Internet History Sourcebooks Project and
Oliver J. Thatcher, ed., The Library of Original Sources (Milwaukee, 1907), Vol. V: 9th to 16th Centuries
I
n Order, most potent Sire, to convey to your
Majesty a just conception of the great extent of
this noble city of Temixtitlan, and of the many
rare and wonderful objects it contains; of the
government and dominions of Moctezuma, the
sovereign: of the religious rights and customs that
prevail, and the order that exists in this as well as the
other cities appertaining to his realm: it would require
the labor of many accomplished writers, and much
time for the completion of the task. I shall not be able
to relate an hundredth part of what could be told
respecting these matters; but I will endeavor to
describe, in the best manner in my power, what I
have myself seen; and imperfectly as I may succeed
in the attempt, I am fully aware that the account will
appear so wonderful as to be deemed scarcely worthy
of credit; since even we who have seen these things
with our own eyes, are yet so amazed as to be unable
to comprehend their reality. But your Majesty may be
assured that if there is any fault in my relation, either
in regard to the present subject, or to any other
matters of which I shall give your Majesty an
account, it will arise from too great brevity rather
than extravagance or prolixity in the details; and it
seems to me but just to my Prince and Sovereign to
declare the truth in the clearest manner, without
saying anything that would detract from it, or add to
it.
Before I begin to describe this great city and the
others already mentioned, it may be well for the
better understanding of the subject to say something
of the configuration of Mexico, in which they are
situated, it being the principal seat of Moctezuma's
power. This Province is in the form of a circle,
surrounded on all sides by lofty and rugged
mountains; its level surface comprises an area of
about seventy leagues in circumference, including
two lakes, that overspread nearly the whole valley,
being navigated by boats more than fifty leagues
round. One of these lakes contains fresh and the
other, which is the larger of the two, salt water. On
one side of the lakes, in the middle of the valley, a
range of highlands divides them from one another,
with the exception of a narrow strait which lies
between the highlands and the lofty sierras. This
strait is a bow-shot wide, and connects the two lakes;
and by this means a trade is carried on between the
cities and other settlements on the lakes in canoes
without the necessity of traveling by land. As the salt
lake rises and falls with its tides like the sea, during
the time of high water it pours into the other lake
with the rapidity of a powerful stream; and on the
other hand, when the tide has ebbed, the water runs
from the fresh into the salt lake.
This great city of Temixtitlan [Mexico] is situated in
this salt lake, and from the main land to the denser
parts of it, by whichever route one chooses to enter,
the distance is two leagues. There are four avenues or
entrances to the city, all of which are formed by
artificial causeways, two spears' length in width. The
city is as large as Seville or Cordova; its streets, I
speak of the principal ones, are very wide and
straight; some of these, and all the inferior ones, are
half land and half water, and are navigated by canoes.
All the streets at intervals have openings, through
which the water flows, crossing from one street to
another; and at these openings, some of which are
very wide, there are also very wide bridges,
composed of large pieces of timber, of great strength
and well put together; on many of these bridges ten
horses can go abreast. Foreseeing that if the
inhabitants of the city should prove treacherous, they
would possess great advantages from the manner in
which the city is constructed, since by removing the
bridges at the entrances, and abandoning the place,
they could leave us to perish by famine without our
being able to reach the main land, as soon as I had
entered it, I made great haste to build four brigatines,
which were soon finished, and were large enough to
take ashore three hundred men and the horses,
whenever it should become necessary.
This city has many public squares, in which are
situated the markets and other places for buying and
selling. There is one square twice as large as that of
the city of Salamanca, surrounded by porticoes,
where are daily assembled more than sixty thousand
souls, engaged in buying and selling; and where are
found all kinds of merchandise that the world affords,
embracing the necessaries of life, as for instance
articles of food, as well as jewels of gold and silver,
lead, brass, copper, tin, precious stones, bones, shells,
snails, and feathers. There are also exposed for sale
wrought and unwrought stone, bricks burnt and
unburnt, timber hewn and unhewn, of different sorts.
There is a street for game, where every variety of
birds in the country are sold, as fowls, partridges,
quails, wild ducks, fly-catchers, widgeons,
turtledoves, pigeons, reed-birds, parrots, sparrows,
eagles, hawks, owls, and kestrels; they sell likewise
the skins of some birds of prey, with their feathers,
head, beak, and claws. There are also sold rabbits,
hares, deer, and little dogs [i.e., the chihuahua],
which are raised for eating. There is also an herb
street, where may be obtained all sorts of roots and
medicinal herbs that the country affords. There are
apothecaries' shops, where prepared medicines,
liquids, ointments, and plasters are sold; barbers'
shops, where they wash and shave the head; and
restaurateurs, that furnish food and drink at a certain
price. There is also a class of men like those called in
Castile porters, for carrying burdens. Wood and coal
are seen in abundance, and braziers of earthenware
for burning coals; mats of various kinds for beds,
others of a lighter sort for seats, and for halls and
bedrooms.
There are all kinds of green vegetables, especially
onions, leeks, garlic, watercresses, nasturtium,
borage, sorrel, artichokes, and golden thistle; fruits
also of numerous descriptions, amongst which are
cherries and plums, similar to those in Spain; honey
and wax from bees, and from the stalks of maize,
which are as sweet as the sugar-cane; honey is also
extracted from the plant called maguey, which is
superior to sweet or new wine; from the same plant
they extract sugar and wine, which they also sell.
Different kinds of cotton thread of all colors in skeins
are exposed for sale in one quarter of the market,
which has the appearance of the silk-market at
Granada, although the former is supplied more
abundantly. Painters' colors, as numerous as can be
found in Spain, and as fine shades; deerskins dressed
and undressed, dyed different colors; earthen-ware of
a large size and excellent quality; large and small
jars, jugs, pots, bricks, and endless variety of vessels,
all made of fine clay, and all or most of them glazed
and painted; maize or Indian corn, in the grain and in
the form of bread, preferred in the grain for its flavor
to that of the other islands and terra-firma; patés of
birds and fish; great quantities of fish---fresh, salt,
cooked and uncooked; the eggs of hens, geese, and of
all the other birds I have mentioned, in great
abundance, and cakes made of eggs; finally,
everything that can be found throughout the whole
country is sold in the markets, comprising articles so
numerous that to avoid prolixity, and because their
names are not retained in my memory, or are
unknown to me, I shall not attempt to enumerate
them.
Every kind of merchandise is sold in a particular
street or quarter assigned to it exclusively, and thus
the best order is preserved. They sell everything by
number or measure; at least so far we have not
observed them to sell anything by weight. There is a
building in the great square that is used as an
audience house, where ten or twelve persons, who are
magistrates, sit and decide all controversies that arise
in the market, and order delinquents to be punished.
In the same square there are other persons who go
constantly about among the people observing what is
sold, and the measures used in selling; and they have
been seen to break measures that were not true.
This great city contains a large number of temples, or
houses, for their idols, very handsome edifices, which
are situated in the different districts and the suburbs;
in the principal ones religious persons of each
particular sect are constantly residing, for whose use,
besides the houses containing the idols, there are
other convenient habitations. All these persons dress
in black, and never cut or comb their hair from the
time they enter the priesthood until they leave it; and
all the sons of the principal inhabitants, both nobles
and respectable citizens, are placed in the temples
and wear the same dress from the age of seven or
eight years until they are taken out to be married;
which occurs more frequently with the first-born who
inherit estates than with the others. The priests are
debarred from female society, nor is any woman
permitted to enter the religious houses. They also
abstain from eating certain kinds of food, more at
some seasons of the year than others.
Among these temples there is one which far
surpasses all the rest, whose grandeur of architectural
details no human tongue is able to describe; for
within its precincts, surrounded by a lofty wall, there
is room enough for a town of five hundred families.
Around the interior of the enclosure there are
handsome edifices, containing large halls and
corridors, in which the religious persons attached to
the temple reside. There are fully forty towers, which
are lofty and well built, the largest of which has fifty
steps leading to its main body, and is higher than the
tower of the principal tower of the church at Seville.
The stone and wood of which they are constructed
are so well wrought in every part, that nothing could
be better done, for the interior of the chapels
containing the idols consists of curious imagery,
wrought in stone, with plaster ceilings, and woodwork carved in relief, and painted with figures of
monsters and other objects. All these towers are the
burial places of the nobles, and every chapel in them
is dedicated to a particular idol, to which they pay
their devotions.
Three halls are in this grand temple, which contain
the principal idols; these are of wonderful extent and
height, and admirable workmanship, adorned with
figures sculptured in stone and wood; leading from
the halls are chapels with very small doors, to which
the light is not admitted, nor are any persons except
the priests, and not all of them. In these chapels are
the images of idols, although, as I have before said,
many of them are also found on the outside; the
principal ones, in which the people have greatest faith
and confidence, I precipitated from their pedestals,
and cast them down the steps of the temple, purifying
the chapels in which they had stood, as they were all
polluted with human blood, shed ill the sacrifices. In
the place of these I put images of Our Lady and the
Saints, which excited not a little feeling in
Moctezuma and the inhabitants, who at first
remonstrated, declaring that if my proceedings were
known throughout the country, the people would rise
against me; for they believed that their idols
bestowed on them all temporal good, and if they
permitted them to be ill-treated, they would be angry
and without their gifts, and by this means the people
would be deprived of the fruits of the earth and perish
with famine. I answered, through the interpreters, that
they were deceived in expecting any favors from
idols, the work of their own hands, formed of unclean
things; and that they must learn there was but one
God, the universal Lord of all, who had created the
heavens and earth, and all things else, and had made
them and us; that He was without beginning and
immortal, and they were bound to adore and believe
Him, and no other creature or thing.
I said everything to them I could to divert them from
their idolatries, and draw them to a knowledge of
God our Lord. Moctezuma replied, the others
assenting to what he said, that they had already
informed me they were not the aborigines of the
country, but that their ancestors had emigrated to it
many years ago; and they fully believed that after so
long an absence from their native land, they might
have fallen into some errors; that I having more
recently arrived must know better than themselves
what they ought to believe; and that if I would
instruct them in these matters, and make them
understand the true faith, they would follow my
directions, as being for the best.@ Afterwards,
Moctezuma and many of the principal citizens
remained with me until I had removed the idols,
purified the chapels, and placed the images in them,
manifesting apparent pleasure; and I forbade them
sacrificing human beings to their idols as they had
been accustomed to do; because, besides being
abhorrent in the sight of God, your sacred Majesty
had prohibited it by law, and commanded to put to
death whoever should take the life of another. Thus,
from that time, they refrained from the practice, and
during the whole period of my abode in that city, they
were never seen to kill or sacrifice a human being.
The figures of the idols in which these people believe
surpass in stature a person of more than ordinary size;
some of them are composed of a mass of seeds and
leguminous plants, such as are used for food, ground
and mixed together, and kneaded with the blood of
human hearts taken from the breasts of living
persons, from which a paste is formed in a sufficient
quantity to form large statues. When these are
completed they make them offerings of the hearts of
other victims, which they sacrifice to them, and
besmear their faces with the blood. For everything
they have an idol, consecrated by the use of the
nations that in ancient times honored the same gods.
Thus they have an idol that they petition for victory
in war; another for success in their labors; and so for
everything in which they seek or desire prosperity,
they have their idols, which they honor and serve.
This noble city contains many fine and magnificent
houses; which may be accounted for from the fact,
that all the nobility of the country, who are the
vassals of Moctezuma, have houses in the city, in
which they reside a certain part of the year; and
besides, there are numerous wealthy citizens who
also possess fine houses. All these persons, in
addition to the large and spacious apartments for
ordinary purposes, have others, both upper and lower,
that contain conservatories of flowers. Along one of
these causeways that lead into the city are laid two
pipes, constructed of masonry, each of which is two
paces in width, and about five feet in height. An
abundant supply of excellent water, forming a
volume equal in bulk to the human body, is conveyed
by one of these pipes, and distributed about the city,
where it is used by the inhabitants for drink and other
purposes. The other pipe, in the meantime, is kept
empty until the former requires to be cleansed, when
the water is let into it and continues to be used till the
cleaning is finished. As the water is necessarily
carried over bridges on account of the salt water
crossing its route, reservoirs resembling canals are
constructed on the bridges, through which the fresh
water is conveyed. These reservoirs are of the breadth
of the body of an ox, and of the same length as the
bridges. The whole city is thus served with water,
which they carry in canoes through all the streets for
sale, taking it from the aqueduct in the following
manner: the canoes pass under the bridges on which
the reservoirs are placed, when men stationed above
fill them with water, for which service they are paid.
At all the entrances of the city, and in those parts
where the canoes are discharged, that is, where the
greatest quantity of provisions is brought in, huts are
erected, and persons stationed as guards, who receive
a certain sum of everything that enters. I know not
whether the sovereign receives this duty or the city,
as I have not yet been informed; but I believe that it
appertains to the sovereign, as in the markets of other
provinces a tax is collected for the benefit of the
cacique.
In all the markets and public places of this city are
seen daily many laborers waiting for some one to hire
them. The inhabitants of this city pay a greater regard
to style in their mode of dress and politeness of
manners than those of the other provinces and cities;
since, as the Cacique Moctezuma has his residence in
the capital, and all the nobility, his vassals, are in
constant habit of meeting there, a general courtesy of
demeanor necessarily prevails. But not to be prolix in
describing what relates to the affairs of this great city,
although it is with difficulty I refrain from
proceeding, I will say no more than that the manners
of the people, as shown in their intercourse with one
another, are marked by as great an attention to the
proprieties of life as in Spain, and good order is
equally well observed; and considering that they are
barbarous people, without the knowledge of God,
having no intercourse with civilized nations, these
traits of character are worthy of admiration.
In regard to the domestic appointments of
Moctezuma, and the wonderful grandeur and state
that he maintains, there is so much to be told, that I
assure your Highness I know not where to begin my
relation, so as to be able to finish any part of it. For,
as I have already stated, what can be more wonderful
than a barbarous monarch, as he is, should have every
object found in his dominions imitated in gold, silver,
precious stones, and feathers; the gold and silver
being wrought so naturally as not to be surpassed by
any smith in the world; the stone work executed with
such perfection that it is difficult to conceive what
instruments could have been used; and the feather
work superior to the finest productions in wax or
embroidery. The extent of Moctezuma's dominions
has not been ascertained, since to whatever point he
despatched his messengers, even two hundred
leagues from his capital, his commands were obeyed,
although some of his provinces were in the midst of
countries with which he was at war. But as nearly as I
have been able to learn, his territories are equal in
extent to Spain itself, for he sent messengers to the
inhabitants of a city called Cumatan (requiring them
to become subjects of your Majesty), which is sixty
leagues beyond that part of Putunchan watered by the
river Grijalva, and two hundred and thirty leagues
distant from the great city; and I sent some of our
people a distance of one hundred and fifty leagues in
the same direction.
All the principle chiefs of these provinces, especially
those in the vicinity of the capital, reside, as I have
already stated, the greater part of the year in that
great city, and all or most of them have their oldest
sons in the service of Moctezuma. There are fortified
places in all the provinces, garrisoned with his own
men, where are also stationed his governors and
collectors of the rents and tribute, rendered him by
every province; and an account is kept of what each
is obliged to pay, as they have characters and figures
made on paper that are used for this purpose. Each
province renders a tribute of its own peculiar
productions, so that the sovereign receives a great
variety of articles from different quarters. No prince
was ever more feared by his subjects, both in his
presence and absence. He possessed out of the city as
well as within numerous villas, each of which had its
peculiar sources of amusement, and all were
constructed in the best possible manner for the use of
a great prince and lord. Within the city his palaces
were so wonderful that it is hardly possible to
describe their beauty and extent; I can only say that
in Spain there is nothing equal to them.
There was one palace somewhat inferior to the rest,
attached to which was a beautiful garden with
balconies extending over it, supported by marble
columns, and having a floor formed of jasper
elegantly inlaid. There were apartments in this palace
sufficient to lodge two princes of the highest rank
with their retinues. There were likewise belonging to
it ten pools of water, in which were kept the different
species of water birds found in this country, of which
there is a great variety, all of which are domesticated;
for the sea birds there were pools of salt water, and
for the river birds, of fresh water. The water is let off
at certain times to keep it pure, and is replenished by
means of pipes. Each specie of bird is supplied with
the food natural to it, which it feeds upon when wild.
Thus fish is given to the birds that usually eat it;
worms, maize, and the finer seeds, to such as prefer
them. And I assure your Highness, that to the birds
accustomed to eat fish there is given the enormous
quantity of ten arrobas every day, taken in the salt
lake. The emperor has three hundred men whose sole
employment is to take care of these birds; and there
are others whose only business is to attend to the
birds that are in bad health.
Over the polls for the birds there are corridors and
galleries, to which Moctezuma resorts, and from
which he can look out and amuse himself with the
sight of them. There is an apartment in the same
palace in which are men, women and children, whose
faces, bodies, hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes are white
from their birth. The emperor has another very
beautiful palace, with a large court-yard, paved with
handsome flags, in the style of a chess-board. There
are also cages, about nine feet in height and six paces
square, each of which was half covered with a roof of
tiles, and the other half had over it a wooden grate,
skillfully made. Every cage contained a bird of prey,
of all the species found in Spain, from the kestrel to
the eagle, and many unknown there. There was a
great number of each kind; and in the covered part of
the cages there was a perch, and another on the
outside of the grating, the former of which the birds
used in the night time, and when it rained; and the
other enabled them to enjoy the sun and air. To all
these birds fowls were daily given for food, and
nothing else. There were in the same palace several
large halls on the ground floor, filled with immense
cages built of heavy pieces of timber, well put
together, in all or most of which were kept lions,
tigers, wolves, foxes, and a variety of animals of the
cat kind, in great numbers, which were fed also on
fowls. The care of these animals and birds was
assigned to three hundred men. There was another
palace that contained a number of men and women of
monstrous size, and also dwarfs, and crooked and illformed persons, each of which had their separate
apartments. These also had their respective keepers.
As to the other remarkable things that the emperor
had in his city for his amusement, I can only say that
they were numerous and of various kinds.
He was served in the following manner: Every day as
soon as it was light, six hundred nobles and men of
rank were in attendance at the palace, who either sat,
or walked about the halls and galleries, and passed
their time in conversation, but without entering the
apartment where his person was. The servants and
attendants of these nobles remained in the courtyards, of which there were two or three of great
extent, and in the adjoining street, which was also
very spacious. They all remained in attendance from
morning until night; and when his meals were served,
the nobles were likewise served with equal profusion,
and their servants and secretaries also had their
allowance. Daily his larder and wine-cellar were
open to all who wished to eat or drink. The meals
were served by three or four hundred youths, who
brought on an infinite variety of dishes; indeed,
whenever he dined or supped, the table was loaded
with every kind of flesh, fish, fruits, and vegetables
that the country produced. As the climate is cold,
they put a chafing-dish with live coals under every
plate and dish, to keep them warm. The meals were
served in a large hall, in which Moctezuma was
accustomed to eat, and the dishes quite filled the
room, which was covered with mats and kept very
clean. He sat on a small cushion curiously wrought of
leather. During the meals there were present, at a
little distance from him, five or six elderly caciques,
to whom he presented some of the food. And there
was constantly in attendance one of the servants, who
arranged and handed the dishes, and who received
from others whatever was wanted for the supply of
the table.
Both at the beginning and end of every meal, they
furnished water for the hands; and the napkins used
on these occasions were never used a second time;
this was the case also with the plates and dishes,
which were not brought again, but new ones in place
of them; it was the same also with the chafing-dishes.
He is also dressed every day in four different suits,
entirely new, which he never wears a second time.
None of the caciques who enter his palace have their
feet covered, and when those for whom he sends
enters his presence, they incline their heads and look
down, bending their bodies; and when they address
him, they do not look him in the face; this arises from
excessive modesty and reverence. I am satisfied that
it proceeds from respect, since certain caciques
reproved the Spaniards for their boldness in
addressing me, saying that it showed a want of
becoming deference. Whenever Moctezuma appeared
in public, which is seldom the case, all those who
accompanied him, or whom he accidentally met in
the streets, turned away without looking towards him,
and others prostrated themselves until he had passed.
One of the nobles always preceded him on these
occasions, carrying three slender rods erect, which I
suppose was to give notice of the approach of his
person. And when they descended from the litters, he
took one of them in his hand, and held it until he
reached the place where he was going. So many and
various were the ceremonies and customs observed
by those in the service of Moctezuma, that more
space than I can spare would be required for the
details, as well as a better memory than I have to
recollect them; since no sultan or other infidel lord,
of whom any knowledge now exists; ever had so
much ceremonial in his court.
The New Laws of the Indies, 1542
From the Internet History Sourcebooks Project and
The New Laws of the Indies, ed. Henry Stevens (London, 1893)
The Laws and ordinances newly made by His Majesty for the government of the Indies and good treatment and
preservation of the Indians created a set of pro-Indian laws—so pro-Indian that some had to be revoked in Mexico
and in Peru due to settler opposition. where the viceroy was killed when he attempted to enforce them. The conflict
was between "feudalists" who favored the encomienda system because it maintained society as in the Old World,
and the more centralizing "regalists" who wanted to preserve royal power in Spain’s new Empire. Eventually the
encomienda was allowed to continue.
C
harles by the divine clemency Emperor ever
august, King of Germany. . . . To the Most
Illustrious Prince Don Philip our very dear
and very beloved grandson and son, and to the
Infantes our grandsons and sons, and to the President,
and those of our Council of the Indies, and to our
Viceroys, Presidents and Auditors of our Audiencias
and royal Chanceries of our said Indies, Islands and
Continent of the Ocean Sea; to our Governors,
Alcaldes mayores and our other Authorities thereof,
and to all the Councils, magistrates, regidores,
knights, esquires, officers, and commoners of all the
cities, towns, and villages of our said Indies, Islands,
and Tierra-firme of the Ocean Sea, discovered and to
be discovered; and to any other persons, captains,
discoverers, settlers, and inhabitants dwelling in and
being natives thereof, of whatever state, quality,
condition and pre-eminence they may be. . . .
Know ye, That having for many years had will and
intention as leisure to occupy ourselves with the
affairs of the Indies, on account of their great
importance, as well in that touching the service of
God our Lord and increase of his holy Catholic faith,
as in the preservation of the natives of those parts,
and the good government and preservation of their
persons; and although we have endeavoured to
disengage ourselves to this effect, it has not been
possible through the many and continual affairs that
have occurred from which we were not able to excuse
ourselves, and through the absences from these
kingdoms which 1 the King have made for most
necessary causes, as is known to all: and although
this incessant occupation has not ceased this present
year, nevertheless we commanded persons to
assemble of all ranks, both prelates and knights and
the clergy with some of our Council to discuss and
treat of the things of most importance, of which we
had information that they ought to be provided for:
the which having been maturely debated and
consulted upon, and in presence of me the King
divers times argued and discussed: and finally having
taken the opinion of all, we resolved on commanding
to enact and ordain the things contained below:
which besides the other Ordinances and Provisions
that at different times we have commanded to be
made, as by them shall appear, we command to be
from henceforwards kept inviolably as laws. . . .
Whereas one of the most important things in which
the Audiencias are to serve us is in taking very
especial care of the good treatment of the Indians and
preservation of them, We command that the said
Audiencias enquire continually into the excesses or
ill treatment which are or shall be done to them by
governors or private persons; and how the ordinances
and instructions which have been given to them, and
are made for the good treatment of the said Indians
have been observed. And if there had been any
excesses, on the part of the said Governors, or should
any be committed hereafter, to take care that such
excesses are properly corrected, chastizing the guilty
parties with all rigour conformably to justice. The
Audiencias must not allow that in the suits between
Indians, or with them, there be ordinary proceedings
at law, nor dilatory expedients, as is wont to happen
through the malice of some advocates and solicitors,
but that they be determined summarily, observing
their usages and customs, unless they be manifestly
unjust; and that the said Audiencias take care that this
be so observed by the other, inferior judges.
Item, We ordain and command that from
henceforward for no cause of war nor any other
whatsoever, though it be under title of rebellion, nor
by ransom nor in other manner can an Indian be
made a slave, and we will that they be treated as our
vassals of the Crown of Castile since such they are.
No person can make use of the Indians by way of
Naboria or Tapia or in any other manner against their
will.
As we have ordered provision to be made that from
henceforward the Indians in no way be made slaves,
including those who until now have been enslaved
against all reason and right and contrary to the
provisions and instructions thereupon, We ordain and
command that the Audiencias having first summoned
the parties to their presence, without any further
judicial form, but in a summary way, so that the truth
may be ascertained, speedily set the said Indians at
liberty unless the persons who hold them for slaves
show title why they should hold and possess them
legitimately. And in order that in default of persons
to solicit the aforesaid, the Indians may not remain in
slavery unjustly, we command that the Audiencias
appoint persons who may pursue this cause for the
Indians and be paid out of the Exchequer fines,
provided they be men of trust and diligence.
Also, We command that with regard to the lading of
the said Indians the Audiencias take especial care that
they be not laden, or in case that in some parts this
cannot be avoided that it be in such a manner that no
risk of life, health and preservation of the said
Indians may ensue from an immoderate burthen; and
that against their own will and without their being
paid, in no case be it permitted that they be laden,
punishing very severely him who shall act contrary to
this. In this there is to be no remission out of respect
to any person.
Because report has been made to us that owing to the
pearl fisheries not having been conducted in a proper
manner deaths of many Indians and Negroes have
ensued, We command that no free Indian be taken to
the said fishery under pain of death, and that the
bishop and the judge who shall be at Veneçuela direct
what shall seem to them most fit for the preservation
of the slaves working in the said fishery, both Indians
and Negroes, and that the deaths may cease. If,
however, it should appear to them that the risk of
death cannot be avoided by the said Indians and
Negroes, let the fishery of the said pearls cease, since
we value much more highly (as is right) the
preservation of their lives than the gain which may
come to us from the pearls.
Whereas in consequence of the allotments of Indians
made to the Viceroys, Governors, and their
lieutenants, to our officials, and prelates, monasteries,
hospitals, houses of religion and mints, offices of our
Hazienda and treasury thereof, and other persons
favoured by reason of their offices, disorders have
occurred in the treatment of the said Indians, it is our
will, and we command that forthwith there be placed
under our Royal Crown all the Indians whom they
hold and possess by any title and cause whatever,
whoever the said parties are, or may be, whether
Viceroys, Governors, or their lieutenants, or any of
our officers, as well of Justice as of our Hazienda,
prelates, houses of religion, or of our Hazienda,
hospitals, confraternities, or other similar institutions,
although the Indians may not have been allotted to
them by reason of the said offices; and although such
functionaries or governors may say that they wish to
resign the offices or governments and keep the
Indians, let this not avail them nor be an excuse for
them not to fulfill what we command.
Moreover, we command that from all those persons
who hold Indians without proper title, having entered
into possession of them by their own authority, such
Indians be taken away and be placed under our Royal
Crown.
And because we are informed that other persons,
although possessing a sufficient title, have had an
excessive number of Indians allotted to them, We
order that the Audiencias, each in its jurisdiction
diligently inform themselves of this, and with all
speed, and reduce the allotments made to the said
persons to a fair and moderate quantity, and then
place the rest under our Royal Crown
notwithstanding any appeal or application which may
be interposed by such persons: and send us a report
with all speed of what the said Audiencias have thus
done, that we may know how our command is
fulfilled. And in New Spain let it be especially
provided as to the Indians held by Joan Infante,
Diego de Ordas, the Maestro Roa, Francisco Vasquez
de Coronado, Francisco Maldonado, Bernardino
Vazquez de Tapia, Joan Xaramillo, Martin Vazquez,
Gil Gongales de Venavides, and many other persons
who are said to hold Indians in very excessive
quantity, according to the report made to us. And,
whereas we are informed that there are some persons
in the said New Spain who are of the original
Conquistadores and have no repartimiento of Indians,
We ordain that the President and Auditors of the said
New Spain do inform themselves if there be any
persons of this kind, and if any, to give them out of
the tribute which the Indians thus taken away have to
pay, what to them may seem fit for the moderate
support and honourable maintenance of the said
original Conquistadores who had no Indians allotted
to them.
So also, The said Audiencias are to inform
themselves how the Indians have been treated by the
persons who have held them in encomienda, and if it
be clear that in justice they ought to be deprived of
the said Indians for their excesses and the ill-usage to
which they have subjected them, We ordain that they
take away and place such Indians under our Royal
Crown. And in Peru, besides the aforesaid, let the
Viceroy and Audiencia inform themselves of the
excesses committed during the occurrences between
Governors Pizarro and Almagro in order to report to
us thereon, and from the principal persons whom they
find notoriously blameable in those feuds they then
take away the Indians they have, and place them
under our Royal Crown.
Moreover, We ordain and command that from
henceforward no Viceroy, Governor, Audiencia,
discoverer, or any other person have power to allot
Indians in encomienda by new provision, or by
means of resignation, donation, sale, or any other
form or manner, neither by vacancy nor inheritance,
but that the person dying who held the said Indians,
they revert to our Royal Crown. And let the
Audiencias take care to inform themselves then
particularly of the person who died, of his quality, his
merits and services, of how he treated the said
Indians whom he held, if he left wife and children or
what other heirs, and send us a report thereof with the
condition of the Indians and of the land, in order that
we may give directions to provide what may be best
for our service, and may do such favour as may seem
suitable to the wife and children of the defunct. If in
the meantime it should appear to the Audiencia that
there is a necessity to provide some support for such
wife and children, they can do it out of the tribute
which the said Indians will have to pay, or allowing
them a moderate pension, if the said Indians are
under our Crown, as aforesaid.
Item, we ordain and command that our said
Presidents and Auditors take great care that the
Indians who in any of the ways above mentioned are
taken away, and those who may become vacant be
very well treated and instructed in the matters of our
holy Catholic faith, and as our free vassals. This is to
be their chief care, that on which we principally
desire them to report, and in which they can best
serve us. They are also to provide that they be
governed with justice in the way and manner that the
Indians who are under our Royal Crown are at
present governed in New Spain. . . .